Heart disease is one of the most prevalent causes of death among women in the world and especially in the United States of America, where the disease afflicts approximately 1 in 3 women. While heart disease death rates among men have declined steadily over the last 25 years, rates among women have fallen at a far slower rate. The myth that heart disease is a “man's disease” has been debunked; the rate of public awareness of cardiovascular disease (CVD) as the leading cause of death among US women has increased from 30% in 1997 to 54% in 2009. Despite gains in diagnosis and treatment, considerable challenges remain.
In 2007, CVD still caused 1 death per minute among women in the United States, or over 400,000 deaths that year. More women were killed by CVD than cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, Alzheimer disease, and accidents combined. Reversing a trend of the past decades, CVD death rates in US women 35 to 54 years of age now actually appear to be increasing, likely because of the effects of the obesity epidemic. The situation is worse for black and Hispanics females compared to their Caucasian counterparts. A very ominous trend is the ongoing increase in average body weight in the former populations, with nearly 2 of every 3 of those women over 20 years of age now being overweight or obese.
The rise in obesity is a key contributor to the burgeoning epidemic of type 2 diabetes mellitus now seen in 12 million US women. The increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus is concerning for many reasons, especially for its association with a greatly increased overall risk of myocardial infarction (MI), CVD, and stroke. The challenge of these diseases in women is not limited to the United States. Recent data document the global scope of the problem: Heart disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women in every major developed country and most emerging economies. One of the most effective tools to diagnose and therefore lead to treatment of these ailments is an echocardiogram test.
An echocardiogram test is a test that uses ultrasound (sound waves) to create images of the heart. In principle, sound waves are provided to a patient's internal body through a transducer being moved over the patient's chest, sound waves reflected from an internal body structure (e.g., a heart) are to be captured by the transducer, and such sound waves reflected from the heart may be re-constructed to create an image of the heart. Generally, the echocardiogram test includes three steps. The first step of the echocardiogram test is referred to as a “resting echocardiogram test” and is directed to using the sound waves to create the patient's heart image when the patient is at rest.
The second step of the echocardiogram test is referred to as an “exercise stress test,” or a “stress electrocardiogram test.” Generally, the exercise stress test follows the resting echocardiogram test and uses an electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) pad to record the patient's heart's electrical activity while the patient is performing an exercise. A typical exercise stress test involves having the patient run on a treadmill, step on an elliptical machine, or bike on a stationary bicycle for a period of time (e.g., 6 to 10 minutes) while one or more EKG pads are placed on the patient's upper body such that the patient's heart's electrical activity can be measured by the EKG pad.
After the exercise stress test, the third step of the stress echocardiogram test, referred to herein as a “post-exercise echocardiogram test,” is generally performed. During the post-exercise echocardiogram test, the transducer is moved over the patient's chest to create the heart image right after the patient stops exercising, in accordance with some embodiments. Different from the resting echocardiogram test, the post-exercise echocardiogram test is directed to creating the heart's image while the heart is not at rest. The resting echocardiogram test and post-exercise echocardiogram test preferably are performed within seconds or minutes from the exercise stress test for accurate assessment, for example by moving the patient onto an examination table where a technician is able to access the patient's beating heart with the ultrasound transducer in specific places. Thus, quick and easy access to the patient's left breast is beneficial for accurate results since the heart is located on the left side of the upper chest.
One problem with the exercise stress test is that patients are usually requested to run on a treadmill at steep inclines without any supportive and/or protective clothing on their upper torso. The primary reason for this request is that such conventional clothing may interfere with application of diagnostic instruments such as EKG sensors and leads and/or sonogram transducer sensors. This requirement may be both physically and emotionally uncomfortable for female patients, resulting in hesitancy to undergo a stress test. In addition, a woman may not exert maximum effort during the test due to the lack of supportive and/or protective clothing for her breasts.
Physically, when a woman runs on a treadmill without any garment (e.g., a bra) on her upper torso, her breasts may move in an uncomfortable and painful manner. This may create physical duress (i.e., pain). Emotionally, women may be uncomfortable running on a treadmill without clothing on their upper torsos while others are present, let alone running with maximal effort. These physical and emotional considerations may discourage women from undergoing a stress test. Furthermore, even if a woman chooses to undergo a stress test, her physical and emotional discomfort may actually unduly influence (e.g., extenuate increased hear rate, respiration and/or blood pressure) the stress test results and decrease the test's diagnostic efficacy.
Additionally, while performing the exercise stress test, a patient is required to be attached a plurality of EKG pads (e.g., typically nine or more) at least over the patient's upper body. A physician/doctor attaches the plurality of EKG pads to the patient's skin, which typically requires the physician/doctor to have a direct physical contact with the patient's upper body, especially around the breast area. In one aspect, such physical contact may cause physical and/or emotional discomfort to the patient. In another aspect, a female patient may wear an apparel to cover her upper body while undergoing the stress exercise test. The plural EKG pads are typically deployed beneath and/or around the apparel, which may accordingly cause some interference between the EKG pads and the apparel. Typically, the plurality of EKG pads are typically connected to a monitoring machine (e.g., a monitoring machine used to process the recorded heart's electrical activity) through a plurality of electrical wires or cables. Such a plurality of wires may disadvantageously cause a variety of problems such as, for example, tangling of the wires, accidental dragging of the monitoring machine, etc., while the patient is exercising.